European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - March 28, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                The Good and bad of natural remedies by Jane Brody new York times nature is Neutral sometimes Good and sometimes Ovil. Ii is Good when it produces foods thai nourish or chemicals like penicillin thai euro. Ii is bad when it dishes up microorganisms Hal sicken or chemicals. Me Boll i in toxin that kill the l ack to nature movement therefore. Has lost Rod both positive and Nogal ivc trends in medical Cine the movement was born in the Early 1970 s and nurtured by rising health consciousness and distrust n organized Medicine. On the plus Side it has championed a whole person approach Ihal sees the patient As an integrated being of body and mind it has also gamed respectability for useful non traditional treatments and More humane methods of delivering care such As birthing canters and midwives. Acupuncture and meditation. On the negative Side i has prompted some people to reject anything deemed not natural including the thousands of beneficial synthetic medications surgery and Olhorn Irea fonts Hal form Iho framework of 20lh Century Medicine. In if a Ico Many americans turn to natural treatments ranging from macrobiotic die is. And Large a jobs of Nta mins and minerals to Hor Balison and homeopathy homeopathy is a treatment approach Hal employs extreme dilutions of natural substances advocates say those solutions stimulate Iho body s ability to Hea Itsell and icy Hack their claims primarily with testimonials. Traditional Medicine scoffs at these claims filing a so airy of scientific evidence. Indeed inc the homeopathic approach was All but dead m Iho u s two decades ago but in recent years it a i arc i enjoying a revival. Whilia it Iho past homeopathic remedies were. Prosn bowl almost exclusively by medical doctors who had taken additional training in homeopathy Loday a growing number of practitioners never studied traditional Medicine. A practitioner without Medica training May nol know Yihmin to refer patients for. Traditional  May Tail to cons Pijor Iho the valued joining forces Wilh Conval Portal Medicine. Of Urther Nero. Many homeopathic remedies now. Can to purchased in health food stores and Corner pharmacies without medical consultation Ihen Ood and drug administration although aware of inc a i j growth in Salea of homeopathic medicines has no i be examined them for safety and. Effectiveness. Homeopathic remedies were permitted to be sold under the food drug and cos Mech act of 1938 since they were to Onsi dared harmless Iho have nol been priority loins for Fra review Tara Agency however has instructed manufacturers to act on f Standard homeopathic remedies and roil fic prescription sate those remedies minded for in eating Nous diseases la to ii mra being Iro Atod homeopathic a by is a bad cold or a a muscle the risks of a Posi by will Lclive re Motyli arc negligible out i thu patient has cancer Livchi disease severe asthma a mocked coronary a Cirtos failure of consult a Rodicol  could prove deadly Wool Midi tonal medical practitioners remain Skop Lical and the american medical association  j homeopathy out of hand this of course does nol mean  remedies do nol work or that conventional Iro almonds work boiler it docs mean Hal More research is needed preferably studies done in collaboration Voith Ron patients vrho choose to pursue a homeopathic ecu be should limit sell treatment to minor ailments. Symptoms that persist should be brought to a physician s attention patients should also be certain that any homeopathic practitioner they consult is a licensed physician. Friends pharmacists and proprietors of health food stores Are not proper consultants. Homeopathy was founded in the United slates and Europe in me Early 1600 s by physicians disillusioned with Barbaric medical practices like blood letting and purging. It flourished unlit the Advent of scientific Medicine around the turn of the Century and the development of antibiotics. Gradually under pressure from the american medical association and drug makers homeopaths and their schools were forced out of business. The rather of homeopathy or Samuel Hahnemann developed the principles of treatment thai prevail today. The first principle is simple like cures  instead of viewing symptoms As a clue to diagnosis and then trying to eliminate them homeopaths regard symptoms As the body s attempt to heal itself. They argue that the symptoms should not be suppressed. Rather Hahnemann sought Elf acts from plants animals and minerals that could induce in healthy people. The Sandrie spectrum of symptoms Lound in the sick. These extracts wore then used to produce homeopathic medicines quinine the traditional treatment for malaria is often cited As an illustration of this in a healthy person quinine causes chills lever throbbing head rapid pulse and extreme thirst which Are All symptoms of. Raiana j/1 homeopathy or treatment using extreme atut Lens of natural substances to cure is enjoying revive. The second and most controversial principle maintains that the smallest conceivable dose is the most Polenz. Homeopathic medicines Are produced by combining an extract will water or water and alcohol in a 1 -o-10 dilution. The mixture is vigorously shaken Suc cussed. Then diluted again 1 -to-1 d and shaken the dilutions and shaking continue until the final solution May have not one molecule remaining of the original extract this dilution is the usual homeopathic remedy How can something diluted this much a effective Evert Avoca Lea of Home Qawiy offer no demonstrable explanation and can Only guess at a possible mechanism. The prevailing theory is that Iho successions somehow impart an Energy or molecular memory to the dilute and thai triggers a therapeutic response. Most physicians insist that this is unproved nonsense and that solutions lacking Active ingredients cannot have anything but a Placebo effect. Or. Stephen Barrett a physician from Allentown pa., who assesses non traditional remedies and condemns Many As quackery said that the belief that More dilute remedies Are More powerful is just the opposite of what pharmacologists believe today there is not one. Example in the whole area of. Pharmacology in which simple dilution of a drug enhances the response u produces to said. Homeopathic remedies Are generally considered Safe precisely because Thoy contain Little or no Active ingredients. However in a typical or Carmenl the symptoms Gol worse before they gel belter suggesting that Iho. Remedy does not work or that a physiological reaction occurs hat could endanger certain patients. In prescribing a remedy homeopathic physicians try to individualize the remedy. They typically delve not just into the symptoms but also into the patient s tikes and dislikes ears and personality. This approach Fosters a sense of caring often lacking in hurry up traditional Medicine. Testimonials  remedies abound. People including some who Are. Well educated claim he remedies halt the flu or a cold of limit the pain of a sprain or Bone Bruise All without Sido . Thoy also say that the remedies eradicate migraine and tension headaches suppress Hay Iever reduce swelling and pain of arthritic joints treat infant Colic and cure earaches and coughs scientific demonstrations that seem to prove homeopathic effectiveness Are far fewer than the anecdotal reports which scientists dismiss. Most studies have been done abroad where homeopathic schools still flourish and homeopathic medicines Are sold at Mast pharmacies. A Lew scientifically designed studies during this decade were reported to have produced better results Wilh Tho homeopathic remedy Ihan v a a look alike Placebo treatment in a five week study p Joh shod in 1966 in the Lancoff a British medical journal 82 Hay Ever patients were treated with a highly diluted homeopathic remedy of Mied grass pollens at  symptoms worsened but Hoy then improved much More than did a comparable group of 80 patients treated with a a acc. The homeopathic patients ultimately experienced Lewer symptoms and needed far fewer antihistamines to control tar allergy last june Iho scientific journal nature published an Experiment led by a French immunologist that was said to show that highly diluted solutions of antibodies could produce a significant biological effecting an editorial the journal expressed disbelief and later sent three people to investigate the editor of nature art1 american scientist who seeks gut frauds and a magician. They called the Export men a Sham. Trie researchers countered thai Iho investigation Wai a mockery Page 16 the stars and stripes tuesday March 26,1989